Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

by · The Markets Daily

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG – Get Free Report) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.57.

Get Our Latest Report on Ferguson

Ferguson Stock Up 2.4%

FERG opened at $228.53 on Thursday. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In related news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,191,430.80. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 23,684.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,745,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,552,777,000 after buying an additional 69,452,584 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $498,005,000. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at $244,561,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Company Profile

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Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

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